Heat Bringing Their Talents To Dallas
CHICAGO (AP/CBSDFW.COM) - LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh joined to win a championship. But the Dallas Mavericks stand in their way.
James scored 28 points, Wade added 21, and they led a furious rally in the final minutes as the Miami Heat eliminated Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls 83-80 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday.
James and Wade were simply spectacular down the stretch, each scoring eight during a game-ending 18-3 run as Miami wiped out a 12-point deficit to win the series.
Now, the Heat are headed back to the NBA finals for the first time since 2006, and in a fitting twist, they'll be facing the Mavericks. Back then, with Wade leading the way, Miami beat Dallas to capture the championship.
For Miami's Big Three, getting to the NBA Finals was the plan right from the start. And despite having some difficulties along the way, they did what everyone expected them to do.
For the Bulls part, the Heat just knocked off the team that won more games than any other, that boasted the league's MVP in Rose and sent expectations soaring around Chicago in a way not seen since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were racking up championships.
Rose led Chicago with 25 points but hit just 9 of 29 shots. He fouled Wade on a key four-point play and missed a tying free throw with 26.7 seconds left.
NBA Finals Schedule
(All Times Central)
Game 1 - Tue May 31 Dallas at Miami 8:00PM
Game 2 - Thu June 2 Dallas at Miami 8:00PM
Game 3 - Sun June 5 Miami at Dallas 7:00PM
Game 4 - Tue June 7 Miami at Dallas 8:00PM
Game 5 * Thu June 9 Miami at Dallas 8:00PM
Game 6 * Sun June 12 Dallas at Miami 7:00PM
Game 7 * Tue June 14 Dallas at Miami 8:00PM
*if necessary
